Bombay HC asks EC to hold Pune Lok Sabha bypoll immediately  

By: Pune Pulse

December 13, 2023

Pune: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold a bypoll for the Pune Lok Sabha seat as soon as possible. The ECI’s certificate prohibiting holding a by-election in the constituency was revoked by the High Court bench.

According to the High Court, ECI provided a ‘bizarre’ explanation for not conducting Pune Lok Sabha seat by-polls, stating that its entire machinery was too busy getting ready for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

As per further information, the High Court bench ruled that ECI’s activities cannot result in citizens going unrepresented. It is unthinkable and would amount to sabotaging the entire constitutional framework.

The bench further added that any parliamentary democracy has elected representatives who act as the people’s voices in governance. Another representative must be appointed if the current one dies. Citizens cannot go unrepresented. That is fundamentally anathema to constitutional structure and is wholly unconstitutional.

On December 12, the Bombay High Court deemed the position of ECI, about not holding the Pune Lok Sabha Seat bypoll because it was preoccupied with other polls across the nation and the planning for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, to be ‘hardly tenable’ and ‘unsustainable.’